Hosts

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the State of Baden-Württemberg and the City of Heidelberg will jointly host the International Conference on Climate Action – ICCA2019 – in Heidelberg on May 22 and 23 2019. The conference will bring together leaders and decision makers from states, regions and cities as well as stakeholders and experts from around the world.

The hosts of ICCA2019: three levels of government join forces

Climate agreements, which only exist on paper, need to be put into practice. Just as a conference requires a venue, climate measures need to be established on the ground. This takes place where people work, do business and live – for example in the host city of Heidelberg in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Baden-Württemberg excels in supporting its cities, municipalities and districts. Germany has adopted a national Climate Action Plan 2050 so that all levels and sectors can play their part in achieving and financing a carbon-neutral country. The federal states, municipalities, associations and the general public contributed to the plan by jointly developing proposals for strategic climate measures to be effective by 2030. The national climate initiative is one of the German Environment Ministry’s tools for promoting climate action in Germany in those areas where it is needed.

The first independent German Federal Environment Ministry was set up in 1986 shortly after the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. The core task was and is to conserve and restore nature and the environment. Today, the Ministry employs around 1,000 staff working across eight directorates-general to protect the foundations of life for people in Germany and to cooperate at international level in the fields of biodiversity, nature conservation and climate action. The Federal Environment Ministry, as the climate ministry, holds lead responsibility in the German government for greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. The key task is to implement the globally binding Paris Agreement and, in cooperation with the federal states, promote climate action at municipal level. Cities, in particular, have a major role to play: on the one hand, they are responsible for over 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, cities are also important drivers of solutions and ideas in the fight against climate change. The serving Federal Environment Minister is Svenja Schulze.

Federal State of Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is a federal state in the south-west of Germany. Approximately 11 million people live in the economically strong state, the capital of which is Stuttgart. The Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector is one of eleven ministries of the Baden-Württemberg state government. Priority topics of the ministry include climate action, shaping the energy transition, and species and nature conservation.

Baden-Württemberg is also very involved in climate action at international level and, in particular, active in cross-border cooperation with its neighbouring countries and states. In 2015, together with California, the federal state launched the Under2Coalition – a coalition of subnational actors committed to ambitious climate action.

City of Heidelberg

Heidelberg is home to around 160,000 people. The locals appreciate its world-renowned beauty and idyllic setting on the river Neckar at the heart of the ‘Rhine-Neckar Triangle’, but what they value most is the quality of life that the city offers. Heidelberg is one of the model municipalities that was involved in the “Master Plan for 100% Climate Protection” of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety from 2012-2018. The goal is to transition into a climate-neutral municipality: By 2050, Heidelberg wants to reduce CO2 emissions by 95 percent and halve the municipality’s energy consumption. The city wants to achieve this together with citizens and players in climate protection.